Gary Pivo Dean of the Graduate College

Two weeks ago, Gary Pivo, dean of the Graduate College, said he was certain that graduate students had the administration's full support.

Now he's not so sure.

On Wednesday, administrators announced a plan to cut his job as dean of the graduate college, a job that pays him more than $120,000 per year.

This announcement came one week after Pivo found out top administrators wanted to eliminate the School of Planning, where he teaches urban planning to graduate students.

Pivo has tenure, so he knows he'll have a job somewhere in the university even if both proposals survive an extensive review and are confirmed by the Arizona Board of Regents.

"I'll be a professor of something, someplace," he said.

Under the proposal, Pivo's deanship would be merged with the job of Thomas Hixon, the associate vice president of Research and Graduate Studies.

But now there is concern that once the job responsibilities are merged, the attention given to graduate students will be spread too thin.

Pivo said that merging his job into another would limit progress.

"If you want to accomplish a goal, you put somebody in charge of it. If you want one-third of the goal accomplished, you give three jobs," Pivo said.

When Provost George Davis announced the proposal to merge Pivo's position, he said that other administrators might find they have to pick up some of Pivo's duties.

"I predict there will be some spillover into my responsibility such that I as provost may find myself heavily engaged," said Provost George Davis.

However, Davis said the issues graduate students face will not be ignored by the administration.

"They're not going to go on the backburner," he said.

Dick Powell, vice president of Research and Graduate Studies, said that graduate students receive their stipends and waivers because of the support of top administrators.

"Our commitment to graduate students is not going to be off one bit," he said.

Pete Morris, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, is skeptical despite reassurance from administrators.

A large number of students and faculty who work closely with graduates have expressed concern about removing a link in the chain, Morris said.

"How much time will (Hixon) have to give to student issues?" he asked. "We want to make sure we don't take any backward steps."

Pivo was hired in 1999 after being approved by faculty and students.

Pivo filled a brand new position, which was created by Powell after he became vice president in 1998. Merging Pivo's position is a logical decision that would not reduce the administration's commitment to graduate students, Powell said.

"We need to have fewer administrative positions. Because of the past history, I don't think that's inappropriate," he said.

Although Pivo's history as dean of the Graduate College has been short, Morris said Pivo has made important contributions to the graduate program. In recent years he asked the Arizona state Legislature for $2 million to hire 150 graduate teaching assistants and requested $1 million in tuition waivers for GTAs.

Morris plans to oppose the proposal at the Graduate Student Council general meeting next week.

Jeff Sklar contributed to this report